Part two - Managing moisture - climate conditions

The local climate plays a big part in the potential for moisture development in structures. With a NZ view, in general the risk of moisture developing is much higher in warm humid climates than colder dryer ones. 

This actually flips previous industry thinking on its head, where the basic assumption had been that warmer climates (ie Auckland and north) were lower risk because the temperature differential driving the fRsi criteria was smaller. At a very basic level this is because the drying potential of drier air is higher than humid air - anyone who’s tried to dry washing in a humid climate would appreciate this.

This changed approach is based on recent work by Jason Quinn and his team at Sustainable Engineering - see his fantastic article here for the detail.

Noting that climate is only one factor in potential moisture development, at a high level, if your project is in a warmer, humid climate, it is definitely worth investing effort to review the potential for moisture development in your structure.